Search form

You are here

Long-time Edgar EMT, resident passes away

Submitted by Claycounty2 on Wed, 01/10/2018 - 12:43pm

Long-time Edgar resident and member of the Edgar Fire and Rescue Department, Bob Rose, passed away Saturday, Jan. 6.
Originally from Kearney, Rose, his wife, and two children moved to Edgar where he began teaching at Sandy Creek School as a math teacher in 1971. Although he retired from full-time teaching, Rose continued to work at SC as a substitute teacher until 2004.
Rose was heavily involved with the Edgar Fire and Rescue Department, and was one of two still active on the department since its start in July 1974, the other being Garry Steele. Along with his time spent on the department, Rose also served as the Clay County Emergency Manager for 31 years.
Due to his dedication, Rose was awarded the Health Leadership Award on March 4, 2015, by the South Heartland District Health Department. In an interview with the CCN, Rose said, “I was kind of humbled by it…I don’t think you think you’re doing anything special, you just do your job.”
Rose was the president of the Edgar EMTs, and served on the South Heartland District Health Department Board for seven years as a member and treasurer. He also served on the Hastings Area Mutual Aid Board and was the president of the South Central Area Mutual Aid.
Edgar Fire Chief Darrel Beck, who had worked with Rose since 1963, said Rose was good at keeping statistics and points for the department. Rose also wrote a report of points at the end of the month, and kept track right down to the day.
The points system is how many points fire and EMTs receive for attending meetings, trainings, mutual aid, being elected as an officer, and during a disaster, there are points for each day a department works.
“After the accident he couldn’t fight fires anymore, but he was always there in the background,” Beck said. “He’d bring water or sandwiches, whatever they needed.”
Adding to his list of medical involvement, Rose was also a volunteer recruiter, a founding member of the South Heartland Area Community Organizations Active in Disaster, and a planner, controller, and evaluator for many preparedness exercises and drills.
In the county, Rose was one of the starters of the Clay County LEPC, along with Jim Fitzgerald, Dick Kloke, Larry T. Nuss, and Carol Rose. He was also one of the originators of the South Central Mini Conference, along with Fitzgerald, Brent Miller, Dale Whitrock, Kevin Finnegan, and Nuss.
This conference was hosted at Sandy Creek and included different classes on EMS and fire, and they often burnt houses for hands-on teaching.
Rose was always up for increasing a person’s knowledge about the medical field, and while working with the public health, he was often known to invite people in and introduce them to others who were more knowledgeable about preparedness exercises, helping conduct drills, and making sure they had venues to share education with others.
“He was a stickler on training; he wanted everyone to be trained and lined up quite a bit of training, especially in the last year or so,” Beck said.
“He was very into people learning. He got excited to see what people had learned,” Edgar Firefighter Emily Beck said.
Rose is survived by his wife, Carol, and their two children, Rob (Renee), and Mikki (Bob) Kirkpatrick. A full obituary for Rose appears on pg. 10.Memories of Bob
“Bob was a true icon. I learned so very, very much from him. All the road trips we took to meetings and classes, and I learned something new every single time. He will forever be remembered for his dedication to the City of Edgar, the citizens of Clay County, and the State of Nebraska. His reach was far and wide and his legacy will live on through the knowledge and compassion he shared.” -Anna Itzen, Sutton Fire and Rescue
“Each Sunday am, Bob Rose would post something that ‘it was a great day to worship.’ I’ll miss your posts Bob, but thank you for being a friend, servant, teacher, guide, and loving us and EMS/fire, public, and school safety, and more, with passion like no other I have ever seen. Thank you for challenging us to be better people, better students, honest and better EMTs, and for standing up for your beliefs and for others. Thank you to his personal family for sharing him with us. We will try to take it from here.” -DudLee Brennfoerder, Edgar & Fairfield Fire and Rescue
“I worked with Bob through numerous disasters, including the blizzard of 2009 and the tornadoes that hit Sutton and Edgar. Bob was a good man. He was always there when anyone needed help and never backed down from a challenge. He was passionate about everything he did and no one was more dedicated to EMS than Bob. He did a lot of great things for Clay County and all the Fire and Rescue Departments. His knowledge, experience, and friendship will be missed.” -Tom Roemmich, Clay Center Fire and Rescue
“He was one of a kind; he was a legend. I got on in September 1981 and one of the first classes I took was taught by Bob. He taught me a lot. He was like a father to me. I really enjoyed the time I had with him.” -Larry T. Nuss, Sutton Fire and Rescue